This invention relates to tonneau covers for enclosing the cargo area of a vehicle, such as a pickup truck, and in particular to a soft tonneau cover having a pivot assembly located adjacent to the vehicle cab. The pivot assembly enables the cover to be lifted or pivoted opened from the vehicle tailgate area. Beyond a determined angle of opening, the pivot assembly allows removal of the tonneau cover.
Tonneau covers which pivot about the front or cab wall of a pick up truck cargo box are known as tip-up tonneau covers. Tip-up tonneau covers are predominately of a rigid or hard construction but can also be of a soft or fabric construction.
The hard tonneau cover has the disadvantages of being heavy and cumbersome. A typical hard tonneau cover is made of fiberglass and weighs well in excess of 200 pounds. Because of its size and awkwardness to handle, it requires two or more persons to remove the cover from the cargo box. The weight of the cover also requires robust and expensive hardware to attach the cover to the pickup bed and to allow counterbalancing of the cover while being pivoted in normal use. The hard tonneau is also cumbersome to ship, requiring motor freight delivery because of the large size and weight.
Typically, the hard tip-up tonneau cover pivots from the front of the cargo box using a hinge. An arrangement is provided to disassemble the hinge and remove the cover while leaving a base rail attached to the top of the cargo box forward wall. Reassembly of the hinge requires precise alignment which is difficult while supporting the tonneau. Furthermore, the hinge assembly must not allow water shed from the cover to enter the cargo box. The tonneau is supported by gas struts, when open, and lockable in the tailgate region of the cargo box when closed.
The soft tonneau cover consists of flexible fabric cover attached to a rectangular frame conforming and secured to the top of the cargo box. Numerous mechanisms have been used to attach flexible sheet tonneau covers to the frame. The two most commercially popular mechanisms are snap fasteners and a continuous hook fastener, known as a J-hook, that engages with a flange to mount the tonneau cover flexible sheet. Typically, lateral bow supports are provided between opposing side rails of the frame to tension the fabric.
The soft tip-up tonneau emulates the pivoting opening and closing motion of the hard tip-up tonneau using soft tonneau technology. One popular method of making a soft tip-up tonneau is to cut the side rails of the frame mid-way and insert a pivot mechanism. The front portion of the tonneau frame is clamped to the forward area of the cargo box and the rear portion of the tonneau frame can pivot for opening and closing. The fabric conforms to each respective portion of the frame and, being flexible, allows motion where necessary. A gas strut is provided to support the rear portion of the tonneau when opened and, using an over-center mechanism, to keep the hinge closed when not opened. Latching is similar to the methods used for the hard tonneau.
A major disadvantage of the soft tonneau of either the conventional or tip-up type, is that in order to remove the tonneau it must be unfastened, rolled up, and then the bow supports and the rails attached to the cargo box have to be removed and stowed. This disassembly must be performed on the vehicle and the soft tonneau covers currently on the market cannot be removed from the vehicle as an assembly. This complex disassembly to remove the tonneau has met with consumer resistance in the marketplace.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rail assembly for a tip-up soft tonneau which allows pivoting about the forward cargo box wall and retains the tonneau fabric.
It is a further object to provide a pivoting rail assembly which can be disassembled after partially opening the tonneau to allow removal of the soft tonneau assembled to a frame.
It is a still further object to provide a pivoting rail assembly which is self aligning to allow one person to reassemble the rail assembly.
The present invention provides a pivoting front rail assembly for a soft tonneau cover. The assembly consists of a base rail and a front rail.
The base rail is semi-permanently attached to the upper portion of the front or cab wall of a truck cargo box. The base rail includes a lower pivot of semi-circular profile having an open, unobstructed end portion and an upward projecting locking tongue.
The front rail is the forward component of a rectangular frame, comprised additionally of left and right side rails and a rear rail. The front rail includes an upper pivot, which cooperates with the lower pivot of the base rail to form a hinge. Additionally the front rail incorporates a groove which engages the locking tongue of the base rail to prevent disassembly of the upper pivot from the lower pivot when the tonneau cover is closed or opened in normal use. When the tonneau is opened to a sufficiently large angle so as to disengage the tongue of the base rail from the groove of the front rail, the joint can be disassembled. Once this unlocking angle is achieved, the upper pivot can disengage from the lower pivot, which includes an open, unobstructed end portion so as to allow for and not create an obstruction or hindrance to the removal of the entire tonneau cover while assembled to the frame. The front rail also provides an interface to retain a fabric fastener, typically of the J-hook or snap fastener type.
Thus, in ordinary use, the tonneau cover remains stretched and retained on the frame as a tonneau assembly. Opening and closing of the tonneau is accomplished in the same manner as a rigid tip-up tonneau by unlatching the rear portion of the frame and tilting the tonneau assembly. To remove the tonneau assembly, the tonneau is opened beyond the unlocking angle at which point the lower and upper pivots can be disengaged.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.